Prefabricated metal window assembly



April 17, 1956 J, 5, COMBs ET AL 2,742,119

PREFABRICATED METAL WINDOW ASSEMBLY Filed Oct. 26, 1953 JACK S. COMBS CARROLL C. OOMBS United States Patent Ofi ice 2,742,119 PREFABRICATED METAL WINDOW ASSEMBLY Jack S. Combs and Carroll C..'Cornbs, Seattle, Wash. Application October 26, 1953,. Serial No. 388,347

3Clai msr Cl. 189-45 In many buildings, new types of windows are now being.

installed including various types of metal windows. The

metal windows. have certain advantages over the prior con ventional wood construction but the art is in a state of flux and various improvements are being made in their construction. The cost of labor, being a large factor in building costs, makes it important to develop means to simplify the installation of the metal windows in buildings. Savings will result from as full a prefabrication of these units as possible because most of such operations, can. be

performed more economically in a factory on a mass production basis than onthe job.

The objectives of our invention include, therefore: to provide a. metal. window assembly which is. a prefabricated structure including areveal frame and which may be installed merely by setting the. assembly in a. window opening between the surrounding structural members framing the window opening; to provide in this assembly means forming agroundzon the inner surface of the building; and, more generally, to devise a more economical metal window assembly both in cost of manufacture and cost of labor of installation.

The term reveal used herein. referstto a member which faces the periphery of a window opening and is disposed in said opening lateral totheplane of the wall having sucht an. opening. In its preferred. forum the, reveal is perpendicular to said wall surfaces.

Certain additional and more particular objectives and advantages of our structure will be understood from the following description read with reference to the drawings, in which:

Figure l is a perspective view of a metal window assembly forming a specific embodiment of our invention shown in place in a building, certain portions of the assembly being cut away to better show the structure;

Figure 2 is a view of the assembly taken from above with most of the parts shown in section; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged View in cross-section of a metalwood combined frame for a window sash according to our invention.

In the present day metal window construction, the tendency is to simplify the construction compared with the conventional wood and sash construction and it will be noted that our metal window assembly is simplified to three principal parts. These parts are the metal window frame 10, the metal sash 12, and the reveal frame 14. Of course the sash may differ, in construction and means of connection to the frame, from that shown in the drawings. The

. Patented Apr. 17,195

metal of the window frame and sashmay be any one of the various metals now used in suchconstructions. The wood of the reveal frame 14 should preferably match the other millwork in the room unless it. is to be painted in which case any suitable wood would sufiice.

The metal frame 10 may be conveniently divided into two parts for describing the same, an outer portion 20 designed to form a trim and seal for the assembly and an inner portion 22 forming the support for sash 12 and the means of connection to reveal frame 14. Throughout. the specification and claims, inner shall meanthat side of the window toward the inside of the building,v and :outer shall mean that portion towards the outside of the building, Sash 12 shown is of common construction having a transverse cross section. in the form of a Z-outline. The sash. is hingedly connected at one side to frame 10 by hinges 24 Outer portion 20 of metal frame 10 extends from inner portion 22 in a flaring outwardly extending. wall 30 terminating in a fiat face surface 32, joined. by an L-shaped.

portion 34 with its terminal leg flange 36 perforated with nail openings so that the assembly may be installed by nailing through sheathing 38 and into the window framing member. The outer building covering, i. e., shakes, siding, etc. rests on top of the flange leg 36 sealing the metal frame at this point.

Inner portion 22 of frame 10 has a Z-section formed by an outer wall 50 and an inner wall. 52, joined by a lateral web 54. Inner wall. 52 extends beyond web wall 54. towardreveal frame 14 forming an outstanding tongue 56 on all sides of the frame. Frame 14 may be termed a wrap-around reveal con struction. The assembly, including frame 10 and sash 12 and reveal frame 14, is prefabricated in. the factory so as. to comeas a unit to the job in. place with. reveal frame 14 secured to metal window frame 10 by groove 58 in which. tongue 56 is positioned.

The building, when constructed, may follow common practice with the only dimensions which have fairly close tolerances being those of the spacing. of the structural members framing the window. These structural members are the jambstuds 60-, 62,, at the sides of the window upper framing. member or head 64, and its counterpartor sill (not shown) at the lower edge of' the window opening. Slight deviations. are. tolerated by giving, the framed opening slightly larger dimensions than. reveal frame 14 and using. shims to tighten the reveal frame Him the opening; and, therefore, the carpenter may easily meet the requirements. t

The installation of the assembly is easily accomplished. The assembly is merely positioned in the opening, the reveal frame is shimmed, and outer portion 24] of frame 10 is nailed to the sheathing and into the structural members. contrasted with other installations of Windows, this method will be understood to be of very considerable economy in the labor required to install. All possible operations have been accomplished in the factory and unskilled labor, including the homeowner, can make the installation.

One of the important advantages of this construction is the saving in labor in producing the reveal. It has been common with metal windows not to have a wood reveal but to merely plaster the sides of the window opening. Considerable time is consumed by this operation and considerable skill is required of the plasterer to form straight reveal surfaces. Even within generous tolerances, sometimes the deviations are noticeable in completed buildings. When the plaster slips over on the exposed frame, such excess has to be cleaned off manually. This plastering job is eliminated, of course, with the wood reveal.

Another advantage of our construction is the forming of a ground or gauge surface 70 at the inner edge of the reveal frame. The jamb in the conventional wood window acts as a ground for the plasterer in those constructions. However, in the metal constructions, no guide was provided at this point and again extra time was consumed in trying to'judge the desired wall plane by the eye or in improvising a ground. This is another reason why some plastering jobs around metal windows will be noticed to be visually imperfect. The positioning of ground 70 can have reasonable tolerance and does not interfere with the rapid and easy installation of the assembly. For convenience, especially in using wallboards or the like, a periphe ral outer recess 72 may be formed in the reveal frame to receive the inner wall cover. The ground edge '70 of reveal 14 may be covered by a casing where desired.

Itwill be apparent from the above description that the objectives of the invention have been met. Various advantages Will appear such as the saving of carpenter work and the work'of the plasterer; and also the window assembly will have a neater appearance than in many prior constructions. We do not wish to be confined in the coverage of our invention to the exact details of construction shown but instead wish to cover those modifications which will naturally occur to those skilled in the art, as defined in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. A window assembly, prefabricated to be installed as a unit by setting the assembly in a window opening between and abutting the side, upper and lower members framing the window opening in a building, comprising: a rectangular wood reveal frame having four Walls, in the form of the sides of a box, fixedly secured together at its corners, said reveal frame being adapted to be secured in said opening abutting said side, upper and lower framing members; a metal window having a rectangular metal window frame and sash in place in the frame, said window frame having an inner portion positioned in and closely fitting said reveal frame, said inner portion of said window frame having a Z-outline in transverse cross-section formed by two parallel outer and inner walls joined by a web wall extending laterally therebetween, the inner wall extending beyond said web wall in a direction toward said reveal frame forming an outstanding tongue on all sides of said window frame, said reveal frame lapping said tongue and having a groove in each wall in which said tongue is positioned, said reveal frame extending inward from said window frame a sufiicient distance to form a ground for the inner surface of such building bordering the window.

2. A Window assembly, prefabricated to be installed as a unit by setting the assembly in a window opening between and abutting the side, upper and lower members framing the window opening in a building, comprising: a rectangular wood reveal frame having four walls, in the form of the sides of a box, fixedly secured together at its corners, said reveal frame being adapted to be secured in such opening abutting said side, upper and lower framing members; a metal window having a rectangular metal window frame and having sash in place in the frame, said window frame having an inner portion positioned in and closely fitting said reveal frame, said inner portion of said window frame having a Z-outline in transverse cross-section formed by two parallel outer and inner walls joined by a web wall extending laterally therebetween, the inner wall extending beyond said web wall in a direction toward said reveal frame forming an outstanding tongue on all sides of said window frame, said reveal frame lapping'said tongue and having a groove in each wall in which said tongue is positioned, said reveal frame extending inward from said window frame a suflicient distance to form a ground for the inner surface of such building bordering the window,

and said reveal frame having a peripheral recess in its inner edge adapted to receive the bordering edge of the inner wall covering of the building. I I

3. A window assembly, prefabricated to be installed as a unit by setting the assembly in a window opening between and abutting the side, upper and lower members framing the window opening in a building, comprising: a rectangular wood reveal frame having four walls, in the form of the sides of a box, fixedly secured together at its corners, said reveal frame being adapted to be secured in such opening abutting said side, upper and lower framing members; a metal window having a rectangular metal window frame and having sash in place in the frame, said window frame having an outer portion forming an outwardly extending finishing molding adapted to engage with the members on the outer surface of such building bordering the window to seal the assembly, said window frame having an inner portion positioned in and closely fitting said reveal frame, said' inner portion of said window frame having a Z-outline in transverse cross-section formed by two parallel outer and inner walls joined by a web wall extending laterally therebetween, the inner wall extending beyond said web wall in a direction toward said reveal frame forming an outstanding tongue on all sides of said window frame, said reveal frame lapping said tongue and having a groove in each wall in which said tongue is positioned.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,561,142 Schiessl July 17, 1951 Schiessl May 4, 1948. 

